Fact File about the Invention of the Ballpoint Pen: Invention: Ballpoint Pens *** Date of Invention: 1938 *** Name of Inventor: Laszlo Biro *** Lifespan of Inventor: 1899 - 1985 *** Nationality of Inventor: Hungarian *** Historical Period: Interwar (1918 - 1939) *** Category: Office Equipment *** Country of Origin: Hungary *** Facts about the Inventor, Laszlo Biro, and the invention of Ballpoint Pens *** Fact 1: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The Ballpoint Pen was invented by Laszlo Biro in 1938 during the Interwar Era of inventions (1918 - 1939) which was a useful addition to advancements made in the area of Office Equipment.
Fact 2: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Prior to the invention of Ballpoint Pens in 1938, people used the fountain pen which required re-filling, was prone to spilling too much ink and leaving ink spots and was easily smudged, requiring blotting paper.
Fact 3: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The inventor of the modern, successful Ballpoint Pens, Laszlo Biro, was born Ladislao Jozsef Biro on September 29, 1899 in Budapest, Hungary and died on October 24, 1985.
Fact 4: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The story of the invention of ballpoint pens began much earlier than 1938. In 1879 Alonzo T. Cross from Providence, Rhode Island, invented the stylographic fountain pen, a precursor of the ballpoint pen. In 1888 John Loud, an American leather tanner, patented roller-ball-tip marking pens that featured a reservoir of ink and a roller ball that applied the thick ink to leather hides. Fact 5: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Other inventors submitted patents for different versions of roller ball pens with a reservoir of ink, but none were successful. The problems with these early inventions of ballpoint pens was the type of ink. If the ink was too thick it tended to clog preventing the smooth flow of ink. If the ink was too thin the pens leaked! Fact 6: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The invention of the modern Ballpoint Pen fell to a bright Hungarian journalist called Laszlo Biro. Fact 7: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The early years of Laszlo Biro were spent in Budapest, Hungary where he was raised by his family. Laszlo Biro was educated at good education and did not undertake higher education at a University
Fact 8: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Following his education he began his career as a journalist and he became an editor in the Hungarian newspaper Hongrie-Magyarorszag-Hungary. Like everyone else Laszlo Biro used a fountain pen which was slow to dry, prone to smudging and needed blotting. Fact 9: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo Biro's association with the newspaper business put him in close contact with the newspaper printing presses. Biro noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing presses dried quickly and did not smudge.
Fact 10: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo Biro began experimenting. He tried filling a fountain pen with printing ink but the printing ink was too sticky (viscous) and clogged the fountain pen. Biro concluded that although the basic properties of the printing ink were good the actual pen was a major problem. The sharp tip of his fountain pen often scratched or tore through the thin newspaper print. Fact 11: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? His brother Gyorgy (Georg) was a chemist and Laszlo sparked his interest in the solving the problem. Together they started to look at ways of creating a different type of pen with a point that did not scratch or tear the paper and that used a suitable ink that flowed freely.
Fact 12: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The idea for a pen came from a 40 year old invention of John J. Loud and his relatively large, metal roller-ball-tip marking pen that had been designed to use on leather. Fact 13: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? John J. Loud's pen, designed forty years previously, was not suitable for writing on paper and as the invention had no commercial value the patent had lapsed. Fact 14: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo Biro decided that the roller ball tip of the Loud invention was a good idea and would resolve the problem of tearing or scratching paper.. Laszlo and Georg developed a new type of viscous ink that would be suitable for their ballpoint pens. Fact 15: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Lazlo invented a ball-socket mechanism with a smaller ball that controlled the flow of ink, did not scratch and prevented the new ink from drying inside the pen. Fact 16: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The roller ball was placed in a socket at the tip of the pen so it could rotate freely whilst collecting ink from the reservoir. The Ballpoint pen, suitable for writing on paper, had been invented. Fact 17: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo and Georg Biro presented their pens at the Budapest International Fair in 1931 and patented it in 1938. The Ballpoint Pen had been invented. Fact 18: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Their invention of Ballpoint Pens fell in significance to the Biro brothers as WW2 (1939 - 1945) erupted. The brothers were Jewish and fled from the Nazi invasion to Argentina. Their friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, fled to Argentina with the brothers and together they formed a company called 'Biro Pens of Argentina' and filed a new patent for the ballpoint pens in 1943. They sold their pen in Argentina under the name of "Birome", derived from their names Biro and Meyne. Fact 19: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? The invention of the Ballpoint pen by Laszlo Biro came to the attention of the American flyers and RAF pilots who were fighting in WW2. The pilots liked the "Biro ballpoint pens", as they were called in Europe, because they did not leak at high altitudes and low pressures unlike conventional fountain pens. Fact 20: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? In 1950 Marcel Bich, a French manufacturer, bought the patent for the ballpoint pen from Biro and it quickly became one of the main products of his Bic Company. Fact 21: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo Biro had invented the ball pen which replaced the majority of fountain pens as they did not leak, were cheaper to produce, were easier to use and required no maintenance. Fact 19: Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? Laszlo Biro retired a wealthy man and died on October 24, 1985. Who invented the Ballpoint Pen? We hope that the facts in this article have provided the answers to all of your questions about the invention of the Ballpoint Pen and its famous inventor, Laszlo Biro. Fast Info and Fact File: Country of Origin: Hungary *** Name of Inventor: Laszlo Biro *** Nationality of Inventor: Hungarian *** Date of Invention: 1938 *** Invention: Ballpoint Pens *** Lifespan of Inventor: 1899 - 1985 *** Invention Era: Interwar (1918 - 1939) *** Type: Office Equipment *** The Inventor and Invention of Ballpoint Pens *** | 
